April 26, 2017 Chicago | July 11, 2017 Boston | Nov. 9, 2017 San Francisco | The Women Adviser Summit is uniquely designed for the sophisticated female adviser who wants to take her personal and professional self to the next level.

Finra board eyes raising arb fees to increase arbitrator pay

Registration fees for equity crowdfunding portals also on agenda at regulator's Thursday meeting

Finra is considering raising the fees related to pursuing an arbitration claim against a brokerage firm in order to increase the pay for people who hear the cases.

Arbitrators' honoraria is one of eight items on the agenda for Thursday's meeting of the board of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. It also will consider registration fees for equity crowdfunding portals, which must register with the broker-dealer regulator.

The results of the board votes will be posted on the Finra website after the meeting.

Finra has come under pressure this year to improve its arbitration system.

This fall, the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association released a study asserting that Finra arbitrators too often allow brokers to clear their records of investor claims.

A panel of three arbitrators typically adjudicates claims filed by investors and by brokers against financial firms. They are paid an honorarium of $200 for each hearing session, and the panel chairman receives an extra $75 per day.

Arbitration cases can last several days.

Arbitrator pay hasn't been adjusted since 1999.

The move is long overdue, according to Robert Banks Jr., owner of Banks Law Office PC.

Finra pay is far less than rates that lawyers and accountants charge, he said.

“You're losing money every day you show up,” said Mr. Banks, who is a Finra arbitrator.

“Everybody complains about it,” he said. “I've talked to lawyers who have said they won't apply [to be an arbitrator] based on the fees that are paid.”

Finra needs to provide better incentives for people to join the pool of arbitrators, which numbers 6,444, according to S. Lawrence Polk, a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.